Joel McKerrow
Joel McKerrow is the go-to speaker on creativity driven transformation.
From the Sydney Opera House, to Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Centre,to The Metropolis in Montreal, Joel has spent the last fifteen years, on global stages, captivating hundreds of thousands of peoplewith his passionate performative style and highly inspiring keynotes.
He is an award-winning writer, keynote speaker, MC and one of Australia’s most successful performance poets.
A Creativity and Innovation Specialist, he is passionate about transforming stagnation into creative momentum and champions the belief that creativity is far too important to be confined to those traditionally labelled as ‘creative.’
ACreativity and Innovation Specialist, Joel is dedicated to helping leaders and teams, in any industry cultivate the environment that creativity and innovation need to thrive.
He champions the idea that creativity can be THE source for both professional and personal breakthrough.
Based in Melbourne
About
Keynote Topics
Unleashing Creative Momentum
Turning Inspiration into Innovative Breakthrough
Most of us don’t consider ourselves inherently creative or see its value in our careers.
Yet, according to the World Economic Forum, Creative-thinking is THE NUMBER ONE, in-demand, soft-skill for the future of work.Indeed, in a world that is constantly changing, no matter the industry, learning how to Unleash Creative Momentum might just be THE single most transformative skill that is needed for your organisation and your people.
This session will:
Explore our resistance to creativity.
Unlock the Creative potential of each individual and team cultures.
Empower people to break through creative-blocks.
Help people to tap into creative-flow in generative ways.
Provide a framework for the creative-process.
Equip teams with intentional, innovative practices.
# Also available as a Breakout Session and Full Day Training.
Leading from the Inside
How Creativity Fuels Wellbeing in Leadership
This session is designed to address the increasing demands on leaders in today’s high-pressure business environments.
As burnout and stress rise, leaders often feel drained and disconnected from their sense of purpose.
This keynote not only explores how creativity can serve as an antidote for any leader striving for long-term resilience, fulfilment, and a deeper sense of meaningful work; but it shall also awaken each person’s unique creative-self, no matter how dormant this self has been.
Drawing from years of creative engagement and leadership insights, Joel will both show how creativity can be used for self-reflection AND he will actively lead your people in on-the-spot creative experiments in their own wellbeing.
These are practices which will both inspire and rejuvenate them in the moment, and also equip them with what they need for the realities of their everyday wellbeing.
Through this process Joel will break down how, by reconnecting with their innate creative potential, leaders can experience profound personal growth, manage stress more effectively, and create thriving work environments that support both individual and team well-being.
This session will:
Re-connect leaders with their unique creative-self in an explosion of creative energy.
Empower and equip leaders to engage with creative-practices for their own wellbeing and mental health.
Help leaders re-ignite their deeper sense of purpose in their leadership.
Boost the culture of creativity within teams leading to higher levels of engagement, collaboration and professional/personal breakthrough.
Build resilience for long-term fulfilment in the leadership journey.
# Also available as a Breakout Session and Full Day Training.
StoryWork
Engaging Narrative to Spark Change
The stories that we tell become who we are – both as individuals and within the cultures of our workplaces. The success of an organisation therefore rises and falls on the basis of the stories told within it and about it. How crucial it is, therefore, to understand STORY in terms of the way it constructs identity and its power to transform culture.
Welcome to StoryWork-a powerful approach to leveraging narrative to ignite both personal and organisational change.
In this keynote Joel will demonstrate how the right stories, told in the right way, can shift perspectives, build a sense of shared purpose, and create a culture of engagement and trust. Through compelling examples and interactive exercises, you will learn how to harness the power of storytelling to communicate your vision, motivate your teams, and connect more authentically with your clients and stakeholders.
Whether you’re launching a new initiative, building a collaborative environment, or strengthening your brand’s impact, this session will equip you with the right narrative tools to spark change.
This session will:
Explore the power of narrative in defining who we are.
Illuminate the power of STORY to transform culture.
Explore the ways we can all craft better stories.
Enhance communication in the workplace.
Apply narrative tools to drive organisational change.
# Also available as a Breakout Session and Full Day Training.
The Five Levels of Deep Listening
Harnessing the Power of Connection
Over fifteen years of being a full time creative artist, I’ve developed a deep understanding of what it means to truly listen. Not just to others, but also to myself. Indeed all creativity begins with listening. So do all relationships. And, I put to you, so does all professional success. In my own professional journey, mastering deep listening has been THE single most transformative factor in the growth of my career. Yet I had to learn it on the job, piece by piece. It is a skill that few of us have ever been taught. So we fob it off as something for counsellors to learn.
In the business world, however, this ability to listen beyond the surface-to truly understand what’s going on for someone-it can transform everything. From business relationships to workplace culture to internal and external communication to creativity and innovation. If you want to see your company and your people thrive, it is crucial for them to learn well the art of deep listening. This keynote will foster such an ability, leading to both a considerable uptake in engagement from those outside your business and better connection and collaboration within.
This session will:
Teach practical techniques to develop and enhance deep listening skills in a professional setting.
Foster stronger connections and collaboration within your teams by improving internal communication.
Empower your team to uncover underlying needs and concerns in business relationships, leading to more effective solutions.
Enhance creativity and innovation by encouraging a deeper understanding of ideas and perspectives.
Equip your organisation with tools to build a more engaged and responsive workplace culture through the art of listening.
# Also available as a Breakout Session and Full Day Training.
